Bansal quits as Sonia puts her foot down

New Delhi, May 10: After resisting for over a week, Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has resigned and he is likely to be interrogated by the CBI. According to media reports, Bansal's name has allegedly been mentioned in over 1000 phone calls that the CBI has tracked over the last few months in its investigation of alleged bribery and corruption in the Railways.

Bansal was asked to submit his resignation after Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this evening. Sonia Gandhi was reportedly not in favour of Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar's continuation. Both Bansal and Kumar are from Punjab and are seen as close to Manmohan Singh.

The MP from Chandigarh was under pressure to quit after his nephew Vijay Singla was arrested last week for allegedly accepting bribe to organise a plum posting for a senior official in the Railways, which his uncle heads.

The agency will soon interrogate Bansal to follow up on allegations of his involvement in the case. The sources said the agency is acting on "grave suspicions." He was the first Congressman to hold the key portfolio in 17 years.